overdrive

play

noun over·drive \ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv\

Definition of overdrive

1 : an automotive transmission gear that transmits to the drive shaft a speed greater than engine speed
2 : a state of heightened activity going into rhetorical overdrive

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Examples of overdrive in a Sentence

He put the car into overdrive.
His acting career is in overdrive.
The reporters went into overdrive to finish their stories on time.

Recent Examples of overdrive from the Web

Team Twitter already had gone into overdrive trying to fill in the blanks, floating both silly and serious scenarios.

— nancy benac, The Seattle Times, "Tweet That: #covfefe signals @realDonaldTrump is back", 31 May 2017
The state Democratic leadership expressed public outrage and went into overdrive to protect the electrification project.

— ralph vartabedian, latimes.com, "A political battle over California's bullet train has ended with the release of money", 30 May 2017
During the film festival this cabal of indefatigable problem-fixers will be working in overdrive, handling just about anything the rich and famous can throw at them.

— thomas page, CNN, "'He never wears anything twice': Cannes' top concierges share their best festival stories", 28 May 2017
Sierra Nevada went into overdrive and the growth continued for years.

— blair anthony robertson, sacbee, "Sierra Nevada’s revered and influential brewmaster calls it a career", 25 May 2017
The company immediately went into overdrive on its sales efforts.

— benjamin elgin, Bloomberg.com, "When the Patient Is a Gold Mine: The Trouble With Rare-Disease Drugs", 24 May 2017
The Book of Eli shifts into overdrive once Carnegie’s step-daughter, Solara (Mila Kunis), tries to seduce Eli.

— hugh hart, WIRED, "Review: Book of Eli Caps Wasteland Saga With a Twist", 15 Jan. 2010

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overdrive'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.